Simplify the following expression: $q = \dfrac{t^2 + 2t - 24}{t - 4} $
Answer: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ t^2 + 2t - 24 = (t - 4)(t + 6) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $q = \dfrac{(t - 4)(t + 6)}{t - 4} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(t - 4)$ on condition that $t \neq 4$ Therefore $q = t + 6; t \neq 4$